Help Helen get to Kona
Donation protected
As many of you know, the only way for a visually impaired athlete to race at the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii is to win one of only five lottery entries that are designated for paratriathletes. This year, Helen Susannah Webb will be the only visually impaired athlete competing in Kona. For the uninitiated, an Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike, and a 26.2 mile run. This entire distance must be completed in under 17 hours.
I met this incredible woman through social media (the paratriathlon world is quite small) when she began training for her first Ironman last year. In May, when Helen found out that she had received an entry to Kona, she reached out to me to see if I could guide her. I was totally floored, because not only have I never met Helen, I will not be able to meet her until we get to Hawaii, as Helen lives in South Africa.
I created this GoFundMe to help cover some of Helen's expenses for Kona. When Helen asked me to guide her, she graciously offered to cover my expenses. Fortunately, I will not have to rely on Helen to pay my way to Hawaii, so we are just fundraising to get Helen to Kona. Helen has a PhD in biochemistry and works in chemistry education. She is an accomlished ultrarunner and completed her first Ironman earlier this year.
If you want to learn more about Helen, I highly encourage you to watch her Tedx Talk here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5volK80ooOU
Helen's goal isn't to set a world record time at Kona. Her goal is more simple, and I think more compelling. Helen's journey to Kona has been about embracing her disability and her journey through to self acceptance.
Hopefully people who watch Helen compete will realize how important it is not to limit yourself based on other people's expectations of what you can accomplish.
If you are able, please consider helping us get Helen to the Ironman World Championship in October. Helen's entry fee alone is $925 and her flight will be more than $1500 not to mention all of the other expenses associated with traveling to and competing in a race of this magnitude. No amount is too small. Please consider sharing this with your network, if you would like to help Helen show that Anything is Possible.
I met this incredible woman through social media (the paratriathlon world is quite small) when she began training for her first Ironman last year. In May, when Helen found out that she had received an entry to Kona, she reached out to me to see if I could guide her. I was totally floored, because not only have I never met Helen, I will not be able to meet her until we get to Hawaii, as Helen lives in South Africa.
I created this GoFundMe to help cover some of Helen's expenses for Kona. When Helen asked me to guide her, she graciously offered to cover my expenses. Fortunately, I will not have to rely on Helen to pay my way to Hawaii, so we are just fundraising to get Helen to Kona. Helen has a PhD in biochemistry and works in chemistry education. She is an accomlished ultrarunner and completed her first Ironman earlier this year.
If you want to learn more about Helen, I highly encourage you to watch her Tedx Talk here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5volK80ooOU
Helen's goal isn't to set a world record time at Kona. Her goal is more simple, and I think more compelling. Helen's journey to Kona has been about embracing her disability and her journey through to self acceptance.
Hopefully people who watch Helen compete will realize how important it is not to limit yourself based on other people's expectations of what you can accomplish.
If you are able, please consider helping us get Helen to the Ironman World Championship in October. Helen's entry fee alone is $925 and her flight will be more than $1500 not to mention all of the other expenses associated with traveling to and competing in a race of this magnitude. No amount is too small. Please consider sharing this with your network, if you would like to help Helen show that Anything is Possible.
Organiser
Caroline Gaynor
Organiser
Charlotte, NC
